My new hometown, Del Rio, is located in southwest Texas. The area is more or less desert-like, but Del Rio itself is like an oasis in the area. The city has some nice green neighborhoods. Today I went for a morning walk and took some pictures for my peeps back home, so you can start getting an idea of what Del Rio looks like.
Some street views
These pictures are obviously from the greener area of the city. I walked down to the creek, because I love running water. There are some nice colors to be found at the creek, because the water is so shallow and it’s quite clear.
The creek
I already have some ideas of what kind of garden I want. We are getting a house in the near future and I want the garden to have both flowers and vegetables. I didn’t get pictures of some of the lovely bushes and trees that have colorful flowers, but I will later. And maybe I’ll add a cactus or two, I mean, I am living in Texas, lol.
Mandatory cactus and some flowers
So, this is part of what Del Rio looks like, the green part of it. I’ll post later more on other neighborhoods, so that you won’t be fooled into thinking that it’s this green everywhere, lol.
Okay. This is probably one of those boring posts that doesn’t interest a whole lot of you. So if you’re one of them, then just close this page and go and do something fun. Bureaucracy is one of those horrible things that nobody likes. But I know I have some family and friends that want to know what’s going on regarding the paperwork over here.
Like any country, if you’re moving or getting married or both, there is a whole bunch of paperwork to do in the States. So my days are filled with lovely bureaucracy that I some days have more energy for than other days. Today I had more energy and got quite a lot done. But that does not mean that it’s been smooth and nice. I mean bureaucracy is bureaucracy – just when you think you got something figured out, you learn that, a-a, you didn’t. And your back in square one or somewhere else. But eventually you’ll get it done (I sure hope so!!!!). So here is where we stand at the moment.
Marriage Certification – check!
I dropped off the paperwork last Monday and got the Marriage Certificate on Friday. So that part is done. Yay, something got done smoothly in a-not-too-long-time-frame! Can it be true? lol
Visa and Green Card – in progress
We’ve filled in the papers for the Visa and Green Card, and we’re waiting to get the papers from the company that is helping us with the process (because we pay them, lol). After that the papers will be sent off and we’ll have to wait for don’t-know-how-long. We might even have to do an interview, lol. We’ll, I don’t mind talking. 🙂 (I guess you know that by know, lol)
Before the Green Card I should get an Employment Authorization Card, which allows me to work. And that’s if I understood things correctly, lol. And with that card I can finally get a social security number.
SSN (social security number) – near future project
For this I need the Employment Authorization Card (as I just wrote) and an original Birth Certificate. Had to send for that from Finland, since I only have a copy with me (the original went with the Visa application). And for you Americans: we don’t do Birth Certificates in Finland. We are plainly put into the system when we are born. That’s why I had to ask for a certificate. I’ve been given some weird faces here, when I say I don’t have one, lol. But yes, I was born at some point somewhere, lol. And you can get a certificate like that, even in Finland (at least nowadays).
Oh, yesterday I got the paper from Kela stating that they’ve kicked me out of social security in Finland. So no more Kela bureaucracy – I guess that’s something, lol!
Marriage Certificate for Finland and name change – in progress
For us to be legally married in Finland, we have to send off a paper to Maistraatti in Finland. I also need to add a paper to get my name changed at the same time. And then we have to get our Marriage Certificate legalized here (Apostille authentication), in accordance with the Hauge convention and add that to the pile. Still figuring out that legalization part, lol. I think I’ve got it….but you never know!
Insurance – check!
Everybody knows that the States are all about insurances and that you better have one or…! Luckily I didn’t need a SSN (social security number) to be able to get under my husbands insurance program. That was a really good thing, because I don’t know when I’ll get that Employment Authorization Card so that I can apply for a SSN.
My belongings – near future project
My precious belongings (which consist of 12 boxes and a small table – that’s not a whole lot, is it? lol) are somewhere in a store in the harbor in Vuosaari, Finland. They were supposed to be shipped off already, but then I found out that I need a SSN to be able to check them out, so the shipment was put on ice for now. I have to see if I can get them without the SSN or not…
The thing is: if you don’t collect your items in a certain amount of time from US customs, they will auction them. That piece of information freaked me out. And that I learned a week before our wedding, so you can imagine how I took it (read: nervous breakdown). Well, not much I can do about it from here right now. Just have to wait…
And don’t even get me started about the insurance for the transportation. I don’t have a whole lot of good to say about that, so I’ll shut up for time being.
Evaluation of Credentials – in progress
For me to be able to work here in the school world, I have to get my papers evaluated, i.e. to see what they are ‘worth’ here. I actually filled in that application and sent off the paperwork today. I should be getting the evaluation within two weeks.
Haven’t had time to do this before with everything’s that’s been going on this spring – one thing to do among so many others.
Patience – my nr 1 trait – NOT
So in general there’s a lot of waiting. I try to take one thing at the time and not stress about it because there’s not much I can do about it. The thing that worries me the most is my belongings. But I have to be patient. Anyone who knows me, knows patience is not my strongest trait, lol.
Patience: what you have when there are too many witnesses around.
– Unknown
Oh, and not only is there a lot of paperwork, there are also A LOT of payments, lol. They say love hurts (*crying sarcastically*). I’ll leave you with this for now:
The race took place on Saturday, here in Del Rio. Adventure Race is a triathlon, that can be done alone (‘insane’) or in teams (‘extreme’ or ‘relay/cruiser’). My husband took part in a four person team that did the extreme part, which means all four have to participate from the beginning to the end. In relay/cruiser it’s only required that 4 persons participate at a time and the team can consist of four to eight persons.
The workers from the hospital had two teams: an extreme team and a relay team.
Extreme team in x-ray shirts.
So, we had to get up early in the morning and head out to Laughlin Air Force Base, where the competition started. The extreme team was in heat three that started at ~7.40. It was a somewhat chilly morning with a beautiful dawning.
My beautiful core family: the extreme racer and support troupes.
The first part was a 5K (~3 mile ) obstacle run. Obstacle run meaning climbing over obstacles, carrying sandbags, turning over big truck wheels, crawling in mud etc. So they we’re pretty dirty by the time they got to the bikes. Unfortunately I don’t have any pics of the run, because they were running on base and we, the support troupes, were waiting with the bikes.
And off they went!
Then they rode 23 miles to Lake Amistad. Just the thought of doing something like that makes me feel sorry for my bum, lol. The last part was rowing 1 mile with a raft, which only could be done by 2 persons from each team this year. Then they had to finish the race by running up the hill to the Finnish line.
Placements
This year the extreme team did really well and placed second in the competition, only 40 seconds before the bronze team. The team that took first place was an Air Force team, so you would figure that they would be in a good shape! The difference to that team was 12 minutes…
But not only did our team take 2nd place, they also won best costume (which apparently was new for this year). Well, with those x-ray shirts I guess it was a given! 🙂 A BIG THANKS goes to their sponsor, Duckie!
AfterParty
After the race came the best part (for me) –> AfterParty, which means party and beer! Yay! Can a Saturday morning get any better? lol.
Well, I’m a Finn and I don’t spit into a glass. That’s another lovely Finnish idiom for you. Ei sylkeä lasiin = not to spit into the glass, which means not to abstain from alcohol or not to say ‘no’ to a drink when offered one. No, I’m not a drunk, nor am I an alcoholic. I’m a Finn, and Finns tend to like beer. I’ll probably write something later about that relationship (Finns and beer), lol. Anyway, it was a really nice time spent with some lovely people! Hope to party again with you soon! lol
CC
You can find more information about the Adventure Race here:
I’m a 31 year old young woman from Helsinki, Finland. Now some of you who know my husband might think, wait, what? She’s only 31!? That means that you’re like a lot younger than him! Yes, I am. But age is no more than a number. And the age of your body is not necessarily equivalent to the age of your mind and spirit.
I grew up in the Capital of Finland, which is a nice city with approximately 600.000 habitats. Helsinki is located by the Baltic Sea, so I grew up with water around me. Therefore water is a vital element for me. You can imagine how happy I was when I learned that Del Rio has it’s own lake. And that my husband (to-be at the time) has a jet-ski (or wave runner as you call it) and a boat. I’m ready for some serious piña coladas and margaritas! (I already know one person who’ll join me for that!! We’ll spend some nice weekends out there at the lake! 😉 )
My second nature is nature itself. I love nature. No wonder I wanted our wedding ceremony to be outside, right? The Finnish nature is absolutely beautiful in all four seasons. (And yes I know, I know, the four seasons of Finland also have their downside – they are not picture perfect, lol!) But there is always beauty to be found in any season and any day. You just have to open your eyes and see it. I learned a lot regarding that when I studied art. Even in November there are a lot of beautiful shades if you take the time to look for them. But lets face it – who does, since everybody (including me) are so depressed in November?? lol (Advice: Do not visit Finland in November, it’s rainy and depressing!) The pics below are obviously not from November, lol, more like June. 🙂
I’m a Swedish-speaking Finn (I’ll post later on that topic). I speak Swedish, Finnish, English and Spanish, and therefore I will be posting in more or less all those languages, depending on how I feel. I will also be elaborating on some beautiful aspects of the Finnish and Swedish languages, mainly Finnish though, because it has no comparison! Everyone who has ever learned or tried learning Finnish knows that! 😀
I’m a Finn. To explain what a Finn is, would probably take a lifetime. I will therefore elaborate on that in different posts, so you can start getting an idea.
And then I’m me. An odd bird, even in Finland. I’m not the stereotypic Finn. I’m not silent (lol, heck no, everybody knows that) nor am I introverted or shy (and Finns aren’t really like that, they just need time to warm up. Or a few beers. Make it five or ten and they’ll tell you their whole life story, lol).
I want to borrow my good friends words, because what he wrote the other day was really true. Juuso is a good friend of mine and he does great stand-up in Finland. You can check out his website at http://www.juusokekkonen.fi/. Juuso, maybe you can come and shock Texas at some point? lol
What he wrote was “To your new friends and family: She is not kidding, she is an odd one. And that’s a plus! She is strong-willed, independent and will, in the end, always do what she wants. You should take the fact that she chose to move her whole life to Texas as the biggest possible compliment. You must be quite awesome too! I hope to come and visit one day!” Yes, Juuso, I’m odd and yes, you should one day visit Texas. And not only Austin this time, because Austin is probably as odd in Texas as I am, lol!
Btw, I’ve been told by several people that I’ll probably love Austin – I guess that’s a date then Austin! ❤
My sense of humor is very sarcastic and ironic. I don’t mean to offend anybody, so if you by some chance feel offended, then please, by all means, stop reading my blog. Like right now. I tend to joke about a lot of things, even things that might be considered politically incorrect or border-line. If I by some chance joke like that in your presence it only means one thing: that I feel comfortable around you and that I trust you (at least to some extent, lol). The more relaxed I feel around people, the easier it is for me to be me (obviously).
Nothing starts my day off quite like an inspirational tweet! May your day go fast, your socks match and your underwear not ride up your ass.
– Unknown
I will be posting about life, combining my roots from Finland to my new adventures in Texas. Therefore it will be a mixture of cultures. I want to tell my story, about my personal experiences in a new world, where there is so much to explore.
A good friend of mine reminded me the other day about writing a blog based on your own experiences and opinions. What he said is that everyone commits errors along the way – i.e. you say something that should have been better unsaid. That’s what’s bound to happen when you write in public. Thank you Otso for reminding me of that! When that day hits me, I hope you can all forgive my ignorance and stupidity. I’m not perfect (although I am a perfectionist), I’m only humane.
I guess it’s quite obvious that I’ve gotten married (if you’re friends with me or my husband on Facebook that is). A lot of people have been asking about our wedding and I know they want to see pictures and so on, so I decided to make a small post about it.
Big Fat as in Small Cozy
First of all, the wedding was not a big wedding (regardless of the headline). We only had family and some friends around. Right now you might be asking yourself several questions. Why? Did my invitation get lost on the post? It must have. – We didn’t really send invitations on the post. 😉 Am I not ‘friend’ enough? – Yes you are. Am I not family? – Yes you are. Don’t they like me?? – No we don’t. Just kidding. We do. 😉
So why didn’t you get an invitation?
My peeps back in Finland were already looking forward to a Big Fat (Latino!) Texan Wedding! Yes, they were! With a lot of partying and an old style country-latino twist to it. And yet I robbed them from it. Why? Am I the worst friend ever? No. (I hope not at least, lol.)
The reason behind a small wedding is due to the Visa arrangements and the fact that we’ve been living not only in two different countries, but on two different continents. I have a K1-Visa (Fiance Visa), which means that after stepping on US soil with the Visa, they give you 3 months to get married.
Before buying my flight ticket and moving down I had to sell my apartment (which means putting it for sale and getting it sold!), sell my things, sell my life (that’s what it felt like, lol), pack my boxes (which required taking pics of e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g for insurance purposes, writing e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g down and estimating a value of e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, pack e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g securely and nicely in bubble plastic and in small boxes that went into bigger box. I can honestly tell you – it was a pain in the ass! Well, not literally, but, you know. And it took time!) So I bought the flight ticket no more than 1 month before I came down. At that time we had decided to have the wedding the 16th of April 2016.
So that meant that there wasn’t that much time to plan the wedding itself, nor have people from Finland flying down all of the sudden. It’s not really free to fly from Finland to Texas I tell you (and I’ve done that 4 times within a year!). And I can also tell you that you can’t really plan a wedding from the opposite side of the world. Everything we had planned we had to re-plan in 1,5 week because of the circumstances. That was not easy I can tell you.
Now you might be asking; if you had 3 months to get married because of the Visa, then why didn’t you have it in June so that people would have had time to come down?
Well. In US, as you probably know, everything is about insurances. I won’t be fully insured before I am Mrs. and we get the paperwork going. So we had to be quick about it. And we want to be done with the whole Visa process too. We still have to file for a SSN (social security number) for me and the Visa/Green Card. A wedding is important, but more important is life itself and that is what we want. Live life together. Forever. Well, or to death do us part.
So long story short:
We chose to keep it small and cozy. Small because I did not have any of my family members nor friends here. So I did not want to feel like a guest in my own wedding. There are so many people here that I haven’t met yet and I look forward to meeting you all. But not in my own wedding. So we invited friends and family that has been close to us during this past year, which meant a party of about 30 people.
For me, personally, a wedding is what the couple decides (that’s probably more Finnish than American, don’t know). And that is what we decided. So now you know. Please don’t feel left out.
Did it feel strange and sad for me that my family wasn’t around? Yes and no. Yes, because I obviously missed them. And No, because – thanks to technology – we had video contact with them through the ceremony, so they got to see it live. And when my husband was in Finland we had a similar event, a small Engagement Dinner with some family and friends, so now we’ve celebrated with both families.
The Wedding
I wanted the Ceremony to be outside, since I love nature and here you can be outside in April (that’s not really an option in Finland in April, lol). We found a perfect spot down by the San Felipe Creek. A big thanks goes to Michelle for helping us find the right place.
As I posted yesterday, it has more or less been either cloudy, raining or thundering the past two weeks. I have seen the sun, but that’s a minority of the time, lol.
Saturday morning started out cloudy and they were promising thunder, BUT, half an hour before the Ceremony the sun came out and it was just perfect. There was barely no wind and the temperature was perfect. So we said our vows underneath some lovely trees by the water. The Ceremony was held by our teacher in Martial Art, Mr. Jospeh Adriance. ❤
The Reception Dinner was held at the Ramada Inn in Del Rio. It was a nice time with family and friends. The cake was made by Susan Ridgeway and it was beautiful. Our wedding was exactly what we wanted. It was a beautiful and happy day that represented us, as individuals and as a couple. It was perfect.
Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.
– Paulo Coelho
Finally I want to share some pictures with all of you, especially since you couldn’t be there with us on our day. I hope you like them and that you in this way can take part of our happiness. Our photographer, Raquel Torres, did an amazing job! Thank you so much for the lovely pictures! ❤
Amo que me digas que me amas
Que me beses con tu boca sonrojándome hasta el alma
Asomarme a tu ventana y despeinarme la costumbre
Ver tu amanecer como ilumina mi penumbra
Saying our vowes.
Amo que me robes la mirada
El café por la mañana
Y despertar entre tus ramas
Que me mires de reojo si cometo una imprudencia
Que mis gestos y mis labios sean de toda tu incumbencia
Amo que me robes la mirada
El café por la mañana
Y despertar entre tus ramas
Que me mires de reojo si cometo una imprudencia
Que mis gestos y mis labios sean de toda tu incumbencia
Por lo que reste de vida, yo me la paso contigo
Comiendo de tu boca el tiempo que me queda
Luchando contra el mundo y contra la marea
Juro que amo todas tus carencias
Aunque prueben mi paciencia
Amo todo si es contigo
Amo eso que sentí cuando te vi
Entre todo lo que amo no amo nada mas que a ti
Doy mi alma, doy mi cuerpo, doy mis huesos
Entrego todo hasta las cosas que no tengo
Te doy mis ojos para verme en tu mirada
Te doy mi almohada, la de plumas, la que amas
Por lo que reste de vida ah ah, yo me la paso contigo oh oh
Comiendo de tu boca el tiempo que me queda
Luchando contra el mundo y contra la marea
Por lo que reste de vida ah ah, yo me la paso contigo oh oh
Comiendo de tu boca el tiempo que me queda
Luchando contra el mundo y contra la marea
Letra de la canción “Por lo que reste de vida” de Thalia
It was the song I chose to have at the Ceremony when I walked down the “isle”. If you haven’t heard it you can find it here:
All in all our wedding was perfect. It will be a memory to cherish in good times as well as in bad times. Because life is not only picture perfect. Life is a process, a journey, an adventure, that is bound to have ups and downs. And when life brings me down, I hope that I will have as many of you, my dear friends, to keep me going, no matter what. I have an amazing husband by my side, a great new family to support me and new wonderful friends here in this new world that I’ve just started to explore. And I won’t forget my support troupes back home. Even if you are not with me physically, you are in my thoughts and my heart. I love you all. And yes, I’m newly wed, happy as a bee and FULL OF LOVE for everybody, lol. ❤ ❤ ❤
“Don’t brood. Get on with living and loving. You don’t have forever.”
— Leo Buscaglia
I promised a small post, well, Oops! (lol) I had a lot to say (which I never have, right?!?!??!)
P.S. Nothing says we can’t throw a Big Fat One-Year Anniversary Party, is it? I mean, I love to party, lol. I guess we’ll see what happens…
Okay. I’ve officially started a blog about my new life in Texas! Yay! My first post was the same I posted on my facebook page a few days ago. I will at some point write some things about me, which will hopefully shed some light to who I am. I will be posting in 1-4 languages, depending on how I feel. I want to combine my roots (Finland) with my new experiences (Texas).
So, to you who are wondering what on earth the headline is about
“Sataa kuin Esterin perseestä” is Finnish. It means “Raining as from Esteri’s ass”. Which means it rains a lot. A lot. A LOT.
In English you would say “Raining cats and dogs”. Well, it doesn’t really rain either cats nor dogs – nor from a Womans butt. Whoever came up with idioms deserves a Nobel Price in Literature, lol. And yes, for English-speakers the Finnish version is probably appalling and horrific. Finnish idioms have a tendency to be like that, I’m not joking! (If you feel offended now, please stop reading my blog. I don’t mean to offend anybody. My sense of humor is based mostly on sarcasm and irony anyway.)
What am I trying to say by all this?
Well. In Finland we have four beautiful seasons. (And yes, I’ll immediately admit: winter is cold and dark. Don’t go to Finland in winter. No kidding.) And here I am moving all the way to Texas, and not only Texas, but southwest Texas, which is more or less a desert. So I’ve been preparing for arid air, sand and lots and lots of SUN. And what have I seen so far? Mostly rain. Wait. What!? Rain? You heard me. RAIN. And here I’ve been smiling and smirking throughout the past year when my husband (Yay! I get to say that now!) has been talking about heavy rains in Texas. I’ll admit my ignorance. When it rains here – it rains! Like cats and dogs, or as from Esteri’s ass. Really. No shitting here.
Note to self: Don’t forget your umbrella, even in Texas!
And when it thunders – it thunders! Last week it was thundering and raining so bad that I didn’t even want to leave the car – and I am usually fascinated by thunderstorms! The San Felipe Creek, were we had our wedding ceremony, was flooded yesterday. I’m so happy the rain and thunder gods (Thor? 😉 ) weren’t around on Saturday, lol.
And I’m so happy that no more damage was caused to Del Rio, my new hometown. Unfortunately other places have not been as lucky, as you’ve probably seen on the news. The damage has been severe and an awful lot of people have been affected by it. Hopefully there will be no more casualties.
A year ago I made a few wishes regarding my future. Then I went to Japan.
A year later, the 16th of April 2016 I got married to the Love of My Life. Hector is all I wished for, and more. I got the American Dream, that I in my ignorance wished for, when I was trying to explain what I was lacking in life. Note to self – Be careful what you wish for!
Years ago I stated clearly to my friends, that I would never move abroad for a man! That I better have a job and a social life of my own before I would ever do such a thing. Heck, I don’t even yet have a green card! Note to self – Never say never!
Meeting Hector changed so many things. I’ve opened a whole new book, not only a page or a new chapter. I lived 30 years in Finland and that volume has now come to an end. The follow-up begins now, on a new continent, in a new country, in a new culture, with a lot of new faces and things.
I already feel lot’s of love here, people who are kind and gentle, who wants to help and support me. That means a lot to me. I appreciate all you do. As I as well appreciate all the support I’ve gotten and still am getting from Finland.
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Helen Keller
To peeps back in Finland:
We’ll stay in touch and I’ll be back in the Summers (no way I’m coming back in winter!!). And you are always welcome to pay a visit if you happen to be around!! (And if not, you’re welcome to plan a trip down here!)
To my new peeps in Texas:
You are stuck with me! When you think that I am or I act odd, please keep in mind that I’m a Finn (i.e. not American).
If you don’t yet know what that means then look up:
And not only am I a Finn, I’m me. Whatever that means! lol
“When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those to love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
with daring steps 